NATIONAL REPORT—When the NoMad Hotel opened in New York City in 2012, it did so with reclaimed wood flooring in its guestrooms. When the Grain Tasting Bar opened late that same year at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver in British Columbia, it featured doors made from reclaimed wood. When the Heritage Cabins at Pine Bungalows in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada were completed this year, the knotty pine tongue-in-groove wood installed in the original Pine Bungalows cabins in the 1960s and 1970s was utilized. Reclaimed wood is increasingly being specified and used in lodgings of all types, whether in...

NEW YORK—On May 31, the third annual Futuregreen Hospitality Forum that brings together hotel brands, designers and manufacturers for a day-long think tank, was held at the Crosby Street Hotel in New York. More than 50 industry leaders attended to collectively discuss environmental challenges and discover new solutions for a more sustainable hotel industry.Two keynote speakers addressed the theme: Smaller, Faster, Cheaper. Mitchell Joachim, a TED Fellow and founder of Terreform ONE shared his work on foldable cars and bioengineered homes made from living materials. Los Angeles-based filmmaker Nirvan Mullick—director/producer of the short documentary “Caine’s Arcade”—used his film about...

CHICAGO—The National Restaurant Association has issued “Bright Ideas,” its first-ever sustainability newsletter, which offers tips and tools to restaurant and foodservice operators on eco-friendly practices that save money, resources and help protect the environment. The newsletter, produced by Conserve, the NRA’s sustainability initiative, features a variety of videos, best practices, case studies and personal accounts of chain and independent operators who have achieved success by practicing sustainability at their businesses. “We are pleased to offer this newsletter that we think will go a long way toward helping operators embrace the prospect of sustainability and better understand the financial and environmental impacts...

WAILEA, HAWAII—The AAA Four Diamond award-winning Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa located in the luxurious Wailea Resort destination has recently been recognized with the ‘Aipono “Excellence in Sustainability Award”. The reader’s choice award, presented by Maui Magazine, acknowledges the resort’s accomplishment as a top sustainability performer and recognizes its role in environmental leadership. “We are deeply honored with the ‘Aipono Award and applaud our associates for their exemplary environmental and resource conservation efforts,” said cluster General Manager John C. Tolbert of Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on Maui and Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on Hawaii...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Association has asked the governors in five Gulf States to support their local restaurants in a quest to maintain uncompromised, year-round access to seafood fished in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. In a letter sent to Governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Rick Scott of Florida, Robert Bentley of Alabama, Phil Bryant of Mississippi and Rick Perry of Texas, the NRA asked the Governors to “stand with us and support the commercial fishing sector that supplies restaurants in your state and throughout the country.” “In recent months, the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Council has proposed changing...

ANN ARBOR, MICH.—NSF Sustainability, a division of global public health organization NSF International, has certified global carpet tile manufacturer Interface’s GlasBac, GlasBac RE and CushionBac products to NSF/ANSI 140: Sustainability Assessment for Carpet. These products are manufactured at the company’s facility in Jiangsu Province, China, the first manufacturing plant in China to produce more sustainable carpet products certified by NSF International.“Interface has demonstrated a true global commitment to sustainability,” said Tom Bruursema, General Manager of NSF Sustainability. “Product specifiers around the globe now have even greater access to Interface’s certified sustainable carpet products, which is an essential component in...

ST. PAUL, MINN.—Ecolab Inc. released its 2013 Corporate Sustainability Report. This annual profile of the company’s commitment to sustainability highlights how Ecolab partners with customers, NGOs and communities to help address some of the world’s most complex resource and business challenges.Ecolab’s mission is to provide and protect what is vital: clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy environments. With a combination of service, expertise and innovation, in 2013 Ecolab helped customers across more than 40 industries operate more efficiently, expand business responsibly, help address regional resource scarcity challenges, adapt operations to meet changing demands and achieve sustainability goals.“Fundamental...

TORONTO—With research indicating solitary bee populations continue to show signs of decline, and loss and fragmentation of habitat cited as a leading factor, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is stepping up to provide solitary bees with a place to rest their wings with the introduction of its first pollinator bee hotel at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York.“Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is extremely excited about the addition of our new pollinator bee hotel and we look forward to providing these pint-sized ‘guests’ with the five-star treatment they so deserve for keeping our ecosystems resilient,” said Alexandra Blum, Vice President, Public Relations, FRHI...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Assn. has relaunched its Conserve website designed to educate restaurateurs about sustainability and showcase how applying greener business practices will save money and help protect the environment. The rebooted website offers numerous videos, case studies, best practices and personal accounts of becoming more sustainable, reducing energy and water consumption, decreasing food waste, recycling, composting and operating business in environmentally and economically responsible ways. “Practicing sustainability is no longer a trend, but an important aspect of the restaurant industry’s daily operations,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, National Restaurant Assn. “With this new and...

LAS VEGAS—Las Vegas Sands Corp. announced that two of its properties in Asia have become the first integrated resorts in the region to receive a prestigious sustainability certification.  Marina Bay Sands and the Venetian Macao, Las Vegas Sands’ integrated resorts in Singapore and Macao, have both earned the ISO 20121 Event Sustainability Management System certification. ISO 20121 is developed by International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards. The standard provides meeting venues and event planners a framework of policies, procedures and processes that have been designed to address the management of environmental, economic...